Paris, March 21 (IANS) Monaco Fontvieille club has kept a low profile after being drawn against Serie A champions Juventus in the quarter-finals of the European Champions League.
The Ligue 1 runners-up’s vice president Vadim Vasilyev on Friday said Monaco have nothing to lose against Juventus, reports Xinhua.
“It’s going to be difficult. Juventus are tough opponents but we will take to the field with ambition. We deserve to be here,” said Vasilyev.
Monaco beat English Premier League side Arsenal 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium before a 0-2 defeat at home took them through to the last eight on aggregate. Monaco advanced as they scored more away goals.
Veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon-captained Juventus ousted Germany’s Borussia Dortmund with an impressive 5-1 aggregate win.
“We know we are up against a team with great ambitions. You only have to look at what they did to Dortmund to see what they are capable of.
“But anything can happen. We are the youngest team here and for us it’s a great experience,” said Vasilyev.
Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim tipped Juventus as “favourites” and admitted it was a tough job against the Italian giants.
“It will be a difficult match against a big team, the leaders in Serie A,” he said. “Football may be unpredictable, but Juventus are favourites. But as always, we’ll be playing to win.”
Skipper Jeremy Toulalan echoed: “Every match is difficult, and this one is no different. Playing the second leg at home can be a good thing, but it’s not always the case, as we saw against Arsenal.”
“Juventus have a lot of players we know,” he added. “They’re an Italian side who defend well and they’re impressive going forward too.”
Jardim’s team will visit the Serie A leaders in Turin on April 14 before they come back home for the return leg eight days later.